The Canadian Opera Company has announced that the 2024-25 season saw more new audiences looking to experience live opera through the COC’s exciting lineup of newly commissioned opera and brand new-to-Toronto productions.

The company also noted that the community-rooted work to broaden opera awareness and accessibility has also been seeing notable gains.

In a statement, COC General Director David Ferguson said, “I could not be prouder of the work being done, across all levels of the organization, to ignite the wonder of opera in new audiences who previously may never have dreamed of experiencing, let alone loving, the art form. In recent seasons, the Canadian Opera Company has been faced with no shortage of significant obstacles, with all signs pointing to the need for a strategic path forward,” continued Ferguson. “Over the course of this past season, my focus as General Director has been on developing and delivering exactly that, and I am confident we’ll see the fruits of these season-long efforts in both the short and long-term future. It has been absolutely inspiring to see this team rally to make this a truly pivotal moment of transformation for the company.”

COC Board Chair Marcia Lewis Brown added, “I am thrilled to see such enthusiasm for experiencing opera first-hand. We are beyond lucky to have a venue as spectacular as the Four Seasons Centre regularly programmed with renowned opera artists and productions from all across the world. And that is because the Canadian Opera Company is a global destination for the best of the best, something that we should all be immensely proud of. Moreover, it is wonderful to see such robust community collaborations between our team and local schools and organizations.”

The company said that there was an 11 percent growth in first-time ticket buyers, marking the second-highest leap in that area in the past 11 seasons. Many younger patrons also chose to take advantage of the company’s Opera Under 30 (OU30) program. Additionally the company saw engagement with its social media accounts expand significantly over the past season, with its Instagram following jumping from 22,000 to 30,000—an increase of 36 percent—and the COC’s new TikTok account garnering 1,200 followers in its first season.

Among the highlights of the 2024-25 season were Verdi’s “Nabucco,” Gounod’s “Faust,”  Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly,” Berg’s “Wozzeck,” and Mascagni’s “Cavalleria Rusticana.”

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